3rd Helping of Handmade Goodness

I have fallen in love with all things handmade.

I mean I've always adored the handmade stuff me and the girls have made through the years,

but a lot of that stuff can be noticeably.. ahem..  "handmade".

But now with the help of the Internet and blogs and Pinterest at our fingertips, there are instructions on how to make just about anything and make it look GOOD! 

 I love it!

So with no further adu....Here is the third scoop of handmade goodness I promised you.

This time with sprinkles AND a cherry on top!  :)

Here are the posts of the  first scoop and second scoop just in case you missed them.

1. Something I made:

This year for Christmas, Elizabeth requested  instead of buying the girls a bunch of toys, that I would make them an "Art Box".  Well...I was all over that like gravy on rice....art supplies is right up my alley.  I had a ball collecting stuff for their box.  I knew immediately I wanted "old school" supplies...The stuff that my maw maw kept in the blue dresser in the "kitty" room that was completely decorated from floor to ceiling  in red, white and blue for the bicentennial year of 1976 that she loved so much she never redecorated....you know...stuff like:

• pipe cleaners
• goggly eyes
•  construction paper
• GLITTER
• pom pom balls
• feathers
• sequins
• buttons
• colored tongue depressors
• wooden beads
• finger paint
• felt
• bling bling jewels

You know.... all the FUN stuff that beckons your imagination to ignite!!

So armed with my Joannes coupons, I had a ball filling up my buggy with crafty goodness.

Of course...I had to make them an apron to wear while they create....I mean, imagination stretching  and being artsy fartsy can get messy you know... :)

At Christmas when she was about to open the box...I love the look of anticipation.

One of the very first creations from the box...

I think it's a masterpiece!

2. Something that was made for me:

This is super special on so many levels.  

• First, It's a birds nest and I've always called my girls my chicks.  They are all beginning to leave my nest so now anything "birds and nesty" can cause me to conjure up a tear pretty quickly these days. 
• Secondly, my son-n-law and daughter made this for me themselves!  It has three eggs to represent my  3 daughters.
• And last...it's gor-geous!!  This is one of those handmade gifts that doesn't' look handmade.  I've been eyeballing these babies on Etsty shops all over and to get one lovingly made by my own kids...well, I'm one happy momma!

3. Something Handmade that I bought for others.
One of my favorite discoveries for me of 2011 was Etsy shopping.  I LOVE supporting other ladies who are gifted creatively knowing its helping them support their families! And not just Etsy...there are many other online sites that have gorgeous goodies that I have shopped from and I loved!

Today though, I want to share with y'all one of my friends and hi-light her amazing seamstress skills. She started out as my "pen friend" through one of {Hannah's great ideas} of connecting ladies together to write actual letters and stuff to each other.   Well Hannah  hooked me up with Marie.  And I couldn't be happier.  I love how she describes herself on her Etsy shop info page....

I am Marie Williams and I love to create. I sew, design, crochet, decorate, paint, draw, embroider, and just about anything else I fancy. Jack of all trades, master of none. I believe that people are creative because we were made in the image of God, who is the ultimate creator. We love to make because He loves to make. We love beauty because He does. We love because He first loved us.

I have the most wonderful husband of more than 10 years (who is extremely talented in his own right), and three beautiful children. I am blessed everyday to be home with my small children, and in between diaper changes, homeschooling and little league, I create! My family is my passion and my first priority.

I try to buy all items made in the USA. When there is an option, I buy handmade. I am very earth friendly; from recycling to cloth diapering, I try to live a life that speaks louder than words. 

She has two Etsy shops.. One is Found by Marie

In this shop you will find gorgeous hand sewn items such as clutches, wallets and totes.  She takes custom orders for bridesmaids gifts and such too.

I love the fabric and the big wooden button on this one!!

Her other Etsy Shop is called  found fabrics

....and I'm like a kid in a candy store when I look at all the beautifulness that she has in this shop.

This was my latest indulgence.

I can't wait to create with this stuff!

The picture does not do it justice....the feel of this fabric is wonderful! 

Sh has such a great eye for finding beautiful fabric to offer to us, but what sold me on shopping and supporting Marie is her story on how the business came about...It's a God thing and I love supporting God things.  You can read about that {here}.

Here is just a sampling of the good stuff you can find...

  

And here are the "Grow With Me Dresses" that she designed for my granddaughters.

I gave her total creative control...colors and everything and I love what she came up with!!

I love the design..

It starts off a dress.

Then eventually as a shirt to wear with jeans.

The girls wanted to get in the pic too:)

I can't wait to see them wearing them!

Well there you have it!  

Another addition of Handmade Goodness.

I hope you liked them...

I have so much more where this came from ;)

Stephanie :)

2nd Helping of Handmade Goodness

Here is the second scoop of handmade goodness I promised you.

With sprinkles on top :) 

{here's the first post in case you missed it}

1.  Something I made for others.

These little hats and gloves for my girls.

Super easy.  Super  cheap.  Super fun designing them to match their unique personalities.

Lydia is into cameos {see here}

 Lauren is my bling girl.  She's into anything sparkly..
(i didn't make these gloves though...dirt cheap $2 specials)

And my  Elizabeth, the busy mother of 3 and  probably why I didn't get a pic of her, is my more classic with a touch of funky girl. 

2. Something that was made for me.

This is a dishtowel my sis in law made for me that I absolutely adore!  Ain't it just precious?!  I could just eat the little yellow pom poms :) Thanks Heather. You did good girl :)

3. Something handmade that I bought for others.

I love sentimental keepsake stuff. And when I saw these vintage baby spoons on easy. 

I knew I had to get them for my grandchildren.  

These were made by Jessica of jessica n designs who I have had the pleasure of ordering several things from.  She is so pleasant to work with when ordering custom pieces and ALL of her work is lovely.  I even won some super cool spoon ornaments from another bloggers giveaway.  I adore them!  Go check out her shop.  She has jewelry too....I'm  thinking Valentines Day...hmmmm...

And while we are talking Valentine's Day...I have to share another lady with a shop that I have grown to love and appreciate so much....Lora and her beautiful shop, Eager Hands.

I have had the pleasure of not only buying her lovely jewelry but also getting to know her,  and her heart has made me love the pieces she creates even more.

She prays over each piece while she makes them and 

each one has a scriptural meaning behind the inspiration.

This is the one I bought for my daughter.

It's to remind Elizabeth of how much she is loved by us, her family.  But even more so by her Savior.  

One of her favorite verses is Psalm 63:3

"Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You."

My hope is that whatever a day may bring in her often hectic life, that perhaps she will catch a glimpse of this around her neck and be reminded of just that..... that His love for her is greater than all the goodness in her life and His love is greater than anything bad that may happen. And regardless of which one she may be experiencing  at the time...to praise Him. 

I may need to have Lora make me one too as a reminder.

Hope y'all are having a Wonderful Wednesday.

Stephanie :)

ps.  there is more handmade goodness coming soon. Mmmm  mmmm good!

Handmade Goodness

I was so overwhelmed by the special and unique gifts that were given this year at Christmas in my family ...many of which were handmade.

I LOVE that!  

I wanted to share them with you....

Some that others made for me and some that I made for others.

And... all the awesome handmade on-line stores that I shopped at but couldn't show you cuz I didn't want to spoil the surprise in case the person I bought it for read my post (whew).... well now I can share all about these talented ladies!

I'm not gonna give it all to you today though....I'm gonna spread the goodness out and give you a sprinkle here and a sprinkle there.

1. Something I made for others

These dish towel aprons!  You can check out the post that inspired me {here}.  These are totally cute from the front but if you were to turn them over, you'd see that I am not a seamstress!  Thank goodness I'm not a perfectionist cuz these babies would have never made it under the tree!

2.  Something that was made for me

I was so blown away by the gifts that others made for me! This is SO hard to only show one today. But here is one of my favorites!!!  My oldest daughter and her husband set them a budget for what they could spend at Christmas and used it wisely.  They practically made everything they gave this year and we ain't talking rink-dink stuff!!  Check this out.....

A vintage cake plate!

They bought the plate at a thrift store and the candle holder at an antique store.

I think they paid a total of $3.75!!!!

That makes me love it even more :)

3. Something handmade that I bought for others.

Now I can spread the love for all the wonderful shops and ladies that I bought gifts from this year.

This first one is from someone I've already shared...Kate and {The Adopt Shoppe}.

Remember when I shared about why the word joy is so special to me and my mom? {here}

Well, I had Kate custom make this for my mom with the meaning my brother came up with.

She loved it.

  I can hardly wait to show y'all more of all this handmade goodness!!

Hope y'all are having a wonderful day.

Stephanie :)